Gov. Gary Johnson may run for U.S. President as a Libertarian

Concord
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Former GOP New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson has been non-existent in the Republican debates, which is why he may give up his bid for the Republican nomination. Instead, Johnson says he may pursue a third-party.

Gary Johnson, a libertarian-leaning Republican, is considered to have one of the best records as a governor when he was the leader of the state of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003. His anti-tax, anti-bureaucracy and pro-decriminalization of marijuana and use of vetos garnered him the nickname Governor Veto.

Johnson has been virtually non-existent throughout the Republican primaries. Being involved in only two debates, Johnson has polled last with one percent in all of the major surveys. He blames the media for this.

In an interview with the Capitol Report, Johnson said that he is unsure when he’ll decide to drop his bid for the Republican nomination and pursue a third-party. The former governor did confirm, though, that a successful run in New Hampshire will not happen, despite his best efforts.

“There’s no expectation, none whatsoever,” said Johnson.

“I feel abandoned by the Republican Party. The Republican Party has left me by the wayside,” said Johnson in an interview with the Santa Fe New Mexican. “If I'd have been included in 16 of the last debates we wouldn't even be having this conversation.”

Although he announced in August that he was focusing solely on New Hampshire with a doubled staff and more money, he hasn’t made a dent in the state. He has held town halls, but there was a lack of attendance.

“Somebody’s out there taking shots at me and they’re really well camouflaged and they’ve been really effective at it,” explained Johnson. “By ‘they’ this could be one individual in the boardroom that owns CNN, that owns NBC, not outright owns but is influential enough on the board to basically say, ‘Well, here’s the roster,’” said Johnson.

If Johnson runs for a third-party, who will he choose? With his libertarian-leaning policies, the common sense choice would be the Libertarian Party – the party expressed interest in having Texas Congressman Ron Paul lead them in 2012.

“It’s exciting, the notion that by doing that I could be on the ballots of all 50 states in the general election and getting to continue to talk about a message.”

Johnson later told KOB4 that he is frustrated with the GOP because they have not offered to help him getting into the debates, despite a letter he wrote to the party asking for assistance.

Nevertheless, Johnson will be continuing to promote his message of less government, less taxes, less regulation, less debt and more personal freedoms, which include his support of gay marriage and marijuana legalization.